BHP says claim it put safety over profit 'unjustified' in Brazilian dam collapse case

Aquiva

23/10/2024 14:22

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      BHP being sued over deadly collapse of Brazilian dam in
2015
    

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      Lawsuit worth up to about $47 billion
    

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      Trial in London's High Court expected to last 12 weeks
    

  
    By Sam Tobin
       LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - BHP  BHP.AX  said on
Wednesday that allegations a pursuit of profit over safety
contributed to Brazil's worst environmental disaster were
"far-fetched and unjustified", as the miner opened its defence
to a mammoth lawsuit at London's High Court.
    More than 600,000 Brazilians, 46 local governments and
around 2,000 businesses are suing BHP over the 2015 collapse of
the Mariana dam in southeastern Brazil, which was owned and
operated by BHP and Vale's  VALE3.SA  Samarco joint venture.
    The dam's collapse unleashed a wave of toxic sludge that
killed 19 people, left thousands homeless, flooded forests and
polluted the length of the Doce River.
    The claimants' lawyers accused BHP of "cynically and
doggedly" trying to avoid responsibility as the trial of a
lawsuit worth up to 36 billion pounds ($47 billion), one of the
largest in English legal history, began on Monday.
    They also allege BHP contributed to the collapse of the dam
by allowing it to be raised as part of an expansion project,
despite an increasing risk of failure.
    BHP, the world's biggest miner by market value, is
contesting liability and says the London lawsuit duplicates
legal proceedings and reparation and repair programmes in Brazil
and should be thrown out.
    The miner argues it did not own or operate the dam, which
held mining waste known as tailings, and that Samarco operated
independently. It also says it had no knowledge the dam's
stability was compromised before it collapsed.
    BHP's lawyer Shaheed Fatima told the court on Wednesday that
the case against it was fundamentally flawed.
    "The claimants appear to say that BHP was so motivated to
make profits from their investment in Samarco that they got
behind the wheel, they operated the business, they put profits
before safety," she said. "This is unrealistic and illogical."
    Fatima added: "The profits before safety allegation, that is
particularly far-fetched and unjustified." 
    She said that BHP's former finance chief Peter Beaven, who
is due to give evidence next month, said in a witness statement:
"BHP had a culture which was embedded throughout the
organisation from top to bottom of safety before anything else."
    The ongoing 12-week trial to determine whether BHP is liable
to the claimants comes as the Brazilian authorities'
negotiations with BHP, Vale and Samarco over a nearly $30
billion compensation deal continue.
    Sources close to the negotiations told Reuters a final
agreement could have an impact on the London lawsuit, a
suggestion the claimants' law firm Pogust Goodhead rejected.

 (Reporting by Sam Tobin
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((Sam.Tobin@thomsonreuters.com;))